In 2023, **** percent of Black people living in the United States were living below the poverty line, compared to *** percent of white people. That year, the total poverty rate in the U.S. across all races and ethnicities was **** percent. Poverty in the United States Single people in the United States making less than ****** U.S. dollars a year and families of four making less than ****** U.S. dollars a year are considered to be below the poverty line. Women and children are more likely to suffer from poverty, due to women staying home more often than men to take care of children, and women suffering from the gender wage gap. Not only are women and children more likely to be affected, racial minorities are as well due to the discrimination they face. Poverty data Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States had the third highest poverty rate out of all OECD countries in 2019. However, the United States' poverty rate has been fluctuating since 1990, but has been decreasing since 2014. The average median household income in the U.S. has remained somewhat consistent since 1990, but has recently increased since 2014 until a slight decrease in 2020, potentially due to the pandemic. The state that had the highest number of people living below the poverty line in 2020 was California.

Community colleges in the US are undergoing a significant transformation, shaped by shifting student demand, economic pressures and volatile public policy in the wake of COVID. Between 2020 and 2025, community colleges have transitioned from pandemic emergency response to a phase of strategic recovery and adaptation. Following a dramatic enrollment decline during COVID-19, when students paused their education because of public health concerns, economic instability and the rapid transition to online learning, the industry is now experiencing a significant rebound. In spring 2025, two-year colleges saw a 5.4% surge in attendance, the strongest growth among all undergraduate settings. Several factors drove this growth: inflation and rising living costs made community colleges’ lower tuition more attractive, while skepticism about the value of a four-year degree prompted more students to seek affordable, flexible programs that quickly build in-demand skills. Despite rising enrollment, revenue has increased at a CAGR of 0.9%, reaching an estimated $75.2 billion in 2025, because most new students pay low tuition, state funding growth remains modest and operating challenges strain resources. As a result, colleges benefit from stronger demand without a corresponding boost in revenue or profit. Community colleges' policy and regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly at the federal and state levels. Recent federal actions, including the Trump administration’s elimination of race-based admissions practices and equity action plans, signal a move from earlier diversity and accountability requirements tied to federal funding. Persistent FAFSA processing delays and confusing changes have disrupted access to financial aid and uncertainty around Pell Grant structure and funding complicates efforts to support low-income students. State policy directions vary widely: while states like Ohio are imposing new restrictions on DEI initiatives and faculty rights, and New Jersey is contemplating a $20.0 billion funding cut, others like Illinois are expanding community colleges’ authority to offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields. While ongoing policy reforms, demographic shifts and affordability concerns will continue to shape the industry, community colleges are poised to play a crucial role in broadening access to higher education and supporting targeted workforce growth. Colleges face strong tailwinds from increased demand for affordable, career-focused programs, growing interest in upskilling and new private-sector partnerships. However, uncertain funding, regulatory volatility and persistent financial aid challenges remain significant headwinds. Converting higher enrollment into stronger financial health will require stable resources, policy agility and ongoing innovation to serve a diverse student population. Overall, revenue is forecast to rise slowly at CAGR of 0.1%, reaching $75.5 billion in 2030.

In 2023, about four percent of the people with a Bachelor's degree or higher were living below the poverty line in the United States. This is far below the poverty rate of those without a high school diploma, which was 25.1 percent in 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for United States (PPAAUS00000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about child, poverty, percent, and USA.

These geospatial data resources and the linked mapping tool below reflect currently available data on three categories of potentially qualifying Low-Income communities: Census tracts that meet the CDFI's New Market Tax Credit Program's threshold for Low Income, thereby are able to apply to Category 1. Census tracts that meet the White House's Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool's threshold for disadvantage in the 'Energy' category, thereby are able to apply for Additional Selection Criteria Geography. Counties that meet the USDA's threshold for Persistent Poverty, thereby are able to apply for Additional Selection Criteria Geography. Note that Category 2 - Indian Lands are not shown on this map. Note that Persistent Poverty is not calculated for US Territories. Note that CEJST Energy disadvantage is not calculated for US Territories besides Puerto Rico. The excel tool provides the land area percentage of each 2023 census tract meeting each of the above categories. To examine geographic eligibility for a specific address or latitude and longitude, visit the program's mapping tool. Additional information on this tax credit program can be found on the DOE Landing Page for the 48e program at https://www.energy.gov/diversity/low-income-communities-bonus-credit-program or the IRS Landing Page at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/low-income-communities-bonus-credit. Maps last updated: September 1st, 2024 Next map update expected: December 7th, 2024 Disclaimer: The spatial data and mapping tool is intended for geolocation purposes. It should not be relied upon by taxpayers to determine eligibility for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program. Source Acknowledgements: The New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Tract layer using data from the 2016-2020 ACS is from the CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS) and is created by the U.S. Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. To learn more, visit CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS) | Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (cdfifund.gov). https://www.cdfifund.gov/mapping-system. Tracts are displayed that meet the threshold for the New Market Tax Credit Program. The 'Energy' Category Tract layer from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) is created by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the Executive Office of the President. To learn more, visit https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/. Tracts are displayed that meet the threshold for the 'Energy' Category of burden. I.e., census tracts that are at or above the 90th percentile for (energy burden OR PM2.5 in the air) AND are at or above the 65th percentile for low income. The Persistent Poverty County layer is created by joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service's Poverty Area Official Measures dataset, with relevant county TIGER/Line Shapefiles from the US Census Bureau. To learn more, visit https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/poverty-area-measures/. Counties are displayed that meet the thresholds for Persistent Poverty according to 'Official' USDA updates. i.e. areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more for 4 consecutive time periods, about 10 years apart, spanning approximately 30 years (baseline time period plus 3 evaluation time periods). Until Dec 7th, 2024 both the USDA estimates using 2007-2011 and 2017-2021 ACS 5-year data. On Dec 8th, 2024, only the USDA estimates using 2017-2021 data will be accepted for program eligibility.

In 2023, the around 11.1 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. Poverty in the United StatesAs shown in the statistic above, the poverty rate among all people living in the United States has shifted within the last 15 years. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines poverty as follows: “Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The concept of absolute poverty is not concerned with broader quality of life issues or with the overall level of inequality in society.” The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the most people living in poverty in 2022, with about 25 percent of the population earning an income below the poverty line. In comparison to that, only 8.6 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) population and the Asian population were living below the poverty line in 2022. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2022. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty in that year in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the child poverty rate in the United States was increasing every year; however,this rate was down to 15 percent in 2022. The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. varies from state to state. Compared to California, where about 4.44 million people were living in poverty in 2022, the state of Minnesota had about 429,000 people living in poverty.

Number of persons in low income, low income rate and average gap ratio by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

Between April 2008 and March 2024, households from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups were the most likely to live in low income out of all ethnic groups, before and after housing costs.

Between 2018 and 2022, people in households in the ‘other’, Asian and black ethnic groups were the most likely to be in persistent low income, both before and after housing costs, out of all ethnic groups.

Text source: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/hsgfin/addi.html In recognition of the fact that a lack of savings is the most significant barrier to homeownership for most low-income families1, Congress passed the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003, which established the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI). The ADDI program was designed to provide assistance with downpayments, closing costs, and, if necessary, rehabilitation work done in conjunction with a home purchase. This formula-based program disburses assistance through a network of Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) in all 50 states and affords them significant flexibility in designing homebuyer programs to meet the needs of their communities. Established as part of the HOME program,2 ADDI is a prime example of direct federal assistance to promote low-income homeownership. In recent years there have been growing concerns that many new low-income homeowners have had difficulty maintaining homeownership.3 To address these concerns in the context of the ADDI program, the Fiscal Year 2006 U.S. Senate Report on the Transportation, Treasury and HUD Appropriations Bill directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to report on the foreclosure and delinquency rate of households who received downpayment assistance through ADDI.4 This report has been developed in response to this congressional mandate. Due to the limited program history of ADDI, and since HOME-assisted homebuyers are quite similar to those assisted by the ADDI, this study jointly estimates annual foreclosure and delinquency rates for both HOME- and ADDI-assisted borrowers who purchased homes during the period from 2001 through 2005.5 While all HOME/ADDI-assisted borrowers were included in the analysis, in order to have the results be representative of the ADDI program, the sample of PJs was limited to those that were eligible for an allocation of ADDI funds in 2004, the year in which the largest number of PJs were eligible. The primary objective of the study, which addresses the congressional inquiry, is to provide an estimate of the foreclosure and delinquency rates among HOME/ADDI-assisted homebuyers. HUD was also interested in an analysis of the reasons behind these outcomes. Thus, a secondary objective of this study is to analyze the factors associated with variations in delinquency and default rates. 1 See, for example, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Barriers to Minority Homeownership, July 17, 2002, and Herbert et al., Homeownership Gaps Among Low-Income and Minority Borrowers and Neighborhoods, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, March 2005. 2 Created under Title II of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, the HOME program is designed to provide affordable housing to low-income households, expand the capacity of nonprofit housing providers, and strengthen the ability of state and local governments to develop and implement affordable housing strate-gies tailored to local needs and priorities. 3 See, for example, Dean Baker, "Who's Dreaming?: Homeownership Among Low-Income Families," Center for Eco-nomic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, January 2005. 4 Throughout our discussion the terms "default" and "foreclosure" are used to refer to the same outcome where homeowners lose their home in foreclosure. 5 Foreclosure and delinquency rates for 2000 are not included here as the data was not consistent enough to produce valid estimations. This report is based in part on surveys of participating jurisdictions.

Endowment returns for many universities skyrocketed early in the current period, largely fueled by booming private equity and hedge fund activity. In 2021, private nonprofit universities saw a staggering 684.0% jump in investment returns. In contrast, public universities, which typically hold smaller endowments invested more in US equities and fixed-income assets, experienced more modest gains. Meanwhile, inflation and rising interest rates in 2022 reversed the boom for private nonprofits, while public universities' endowments' focus on fixed-income assets stabilized their returns. Skyrocketing investment returns bolstered surpluses, but rising wage expenditures among expanding staff sizes have since brought down profit. Revenue has been sinking at a CAGR of 1.3% over the five years through 2025 to an estimated $591.0 billion despite an expected 0.7% rise in 2025 alone. Colleges and universities are contending with sluggish enrollment growth. Lackluster job placement rates and the highly publicized student debt crisis have made many potential students skeptical of a college degree's return on investment. With judicial reviews rendering the Biden administration's efforts to ease the burden of student debt unsuccessful, student loans remain a major deterrent for consumers. Many have instead opted for cheaper trade schools with reliable connections to employers. Community colleges' affordable prices are also making them a larger competitive threat to four-year universities. In response, universities are hiring capable staff and ramping up marketing campaigns to promote the value of their degree programs. Mounting automation will encourage many to enroll in a university to switch to a new field with more job security. Student loans will become more attractive as inflation stabilizes and the Federal Reserve continues to lower interest rates, encouraging traditional university enrollment. Still, the Trump administration's end to student debt forgiveness initiatives will lead to more price sensitivity among potential students, intensifying competition both between universities and with other cheaper options for postsecondary education. The new budget reconciliation bill will also impose both benefits and challenges for universities, including higher taxes on endowments, lower graduate program borrowing limits and tightened gainful employment rules. International students will remain a valuable revenue stream, especially as legislative changes in Canada promote higher education in the US with students from overseas. Revenue is set to swell at a CAGR of 0.7% to an estimated $610.8 billion through the end of 2030.

In the time between 2023 and 2024, low-income families paid ****** U.S. dollars on average for college, whereas high-income families paid ****** U.S. dollars during this time. On average, families in the United States paid ****** U.S. dollars for college.

Abstract (en): Every year, 150,000 disadvantaged students do not attend college, even though their aspirations, grades, and test scores would predict otherwise. Census data indicates that the percentage of students from low-income families enrolling in higher education immediately after graduating has declined by 10 percentage points since 2008. The College Ambition Program (CAP) was created to change the college trajectory of these high needs populations in fourteen public urban and rural high schools. In the first phase of study, CAP provides an integrated program of academic, social, and financial resources designed to build a college-going culture within a school by shaping adolescents’ aspirations and knowledge of corresponding educational requirements for a given career path, with a particular emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The CAP has four major components in the intervention design: (1) mentoring and tutoring; (2) course counseling and college advising; (3) financial aid guidance; and (4) college visits. Data were collected employing surveys, interviews, site-coordinator contact log, and student sign-in sheet. The surveys were verified with administrative data from Michigan and allowed us to examine treatment effect of CAP school compared to control schools. This study applied a difference-in-difference method with propensity matching to evaluate the impact of the CAP on two-year, four year and overall college enrollment from 2013-14 to 2016-17. Our results suggest that a 6.8 percent increase in the overall college enrollment, a 9.4 percent increase in the two-year college enrollment and a 2.01 percent increase in the four-year college enrollment. The second phase of the CAP is developing a digitized platform that monitors personalized learning in various in-and out-of-school experiences. By offering over 3,000 students opportunities to participate in the randomized control trials of personalized learning in college application, and STEM preparation, the anticipate outcome is to increase college enrollment in STEM fields of low-income and minority students. Funding insitution(s): National Science Foundation (DRL-1316702).

The statistic shows the percentage of high school graduates who enrolled in college in the fall immediately after their graduation, by income groups. Percentages were compared in the years 1980 and 2009. In 2009, 84 percent of high school students from wealthy families enrolled in college right after their graduation, while only 55 percent of their peers from low-income backgrounds did the same.

This table contains results for people in households with a relatively low income. The results are broken down into personal characteristics such as gender, age and migration background. Two income limits are used for the classification by level of income: the low-income limit and the policy minimum. For these classifications, the number of persons is published, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population. The table also contains data on the number of people in households that had to survive on an income below the used income threshold for a long period of time (4 years and longer). The results are used, among other things, in reports on poverty. The data refer to all persons in private households with an income as at 1 January of the year under review. Student households and households that only had an income for part of the year were not taken into account. Data available from: 2011. Status of the figures: The figures for the years 2011 - 2020 are final. The figures for 2021 are provisional. Changes as of March 10, 2023: For the periods 2011 to 2013, the figures for Duration of income position: 4 years or longer have been supplemented. Changes as of December 2, 2022: Update with final figures for 2020 and provisional figures for 2021. When will new figures be released? The new figures will be available in December 2023.

United States - Fertility Rate, Total for Low Income Countries was 4.53057 Births per Woman in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Fertility Rate, Total for Low Income Countries reached a record high of 6.74676 in January of 1972 and a record low of 4.53057 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Fertility Rate, Total for Low Income Countries - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT) - The Low-income cut-offs, after tax refers to an income threshold, defined using 1992 expenditure data, below which economic families or persons not in economic families would likely have devoted a larger share of their after-tax income than average to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. More specifically, the thresholds represented income levels at which these families or persons were expected to spend 20 percentage points or more of their after-tax income than average on food, shelter and clothing. These thresholds have been adjusted to current dollars using the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI).The LICO-AT has 35 cut-offs varying by seven family sizes and five different sizes of area of residence to account for economies of scale and potential differences in cost of living in communities of different sizes. These thresholds are presented in Table 4.3 Low-income cut-offs, after tax (LICO-AT - 1992 base) for economic families and persons not in economic families, 2015, Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016.When the after-tax income of an economic family member or a person not in an economic family falls below the threshold applicable to the person, the person is considered to be in low income according to LICO-AT. Since the LICO-AT threshold and family income are unique within each economic family, low-income status based on LICO-AT can also be reported for economic families.Return to footnote1referrerFootnote 2Users should be aware that the estimates associated with this variable are more affected than most by the incomplete enumeration of certain Indian reserves and Indian settlements in the Census of Population.For more information on Aboriginal variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Aboriginal Peoples Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016 and the Aboriginal Peoples Technical Report, Census of Population, 2016.Return to footnote2referrerFootnote 3Low-income status - The income situation of the statistical unit in relation to a specific low-income line in a reference year. Statistical units with income that is below the low-income line are considered to be in low income.For the 2016 Census, the reference period is the calendar year 2015 for all income variables.Return to footnote3referrerFootnote 4The low-income concepts are not applied in the territories and in certain areas based on census subdivision type (such as Indian reserves). The existence of substantial in-kind transfers (such as subsidized housing and First Nations band housing) and sizeable barter economies or consumption from own production (such as product from hunting, farming or fishing) could make the interpretation of low-income statistics more difficult in these situations.Return to footnote4referrerFootnote 5Prevalence of low income - The proportion or percentage of units whose income falls below a specified low-income line.Return to footnote5referrerFootnote 6Users should be aware that the estimates associated with this variable are more affected than most by the incomplete enumeration of certain Indian reserves and Indian settlements in the 2016 Census of Population. For more information on Aboriginal variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, refer to the Aboriginal Peoples Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016 and the Aboriginal Peoples Technical Report, Census of Population, 2016.Return to footnote6referrerFootnote 7'Aboriginal identity' includes persons who are First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit) and/or those who are Registered or Treaty Indians (that is, registered under the Indian Act of Canada) and/or those who have membership in a First Nation or Indian band. Aboriginal peoples of Canada are defined in the Constitution Act, 1982, section 35 (2) as including the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.Return to footnote7referrerFootnote 8'Single Aboriginal responses' includes persons who are in only one Aboriginal group, that is First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit).Return to footnote8referrerFootnote 9Users should be aware that the estimates associated with this variable are more affected than most by the incomplete enumeration of certain Indian reserves and Indian settlements in the 2016 Census of Population. For additional information, refer to the Aboriginal Peoples Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.Return to footnote9referrerFootnote 10'Multiple Aboriginal responses' includes persons who are any two or all three of the following: First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit).Return to footnote10referrerFootnote 11'Aboriginal responses not included elsewhere' includes persons who are not First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit), but who have Registered or Treaty Indian status and/or Membership in a First Nation or Indian band.

Income determines where a person or family is on the path to opportunities like home ownership, education, job training and other components of the American Dream. If each income level is considered to be a step on the stairway to success, how many people occupy each step?In each urban area, this map checks the number of households found in the five lowest income groups that Esri demographics reports, and indicates which is the predominant (largest) low income group. The resulting patterns may surprise you. Zoom in on different regions of the country to see the actual urban boundaries.The data shown is from Esri's 2015 Demographic estimates using Census 2010 geographic boundaries. Esri offers U.S. Updated Demographic (2017/2022) Data - Population, age, income, sex, race, home value, and marital status are among the variables included in the database. Each year, Esri's Data Development team employs its proven methodologies to update more than 2,000 demographic variables for a variety of U.S. geographies.